VW emissions scandal: UK Government to spend £650k re-testing affected vehicles

The government is to undertake a vehicle re-testing programme in the wake of the Volkswagen emissions scandal.

Testing is expected to cost the taxpayer upwards of £650,000, according to Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, Andrew Jones.

Cars that represent the British car market will be tested, so the sample is likely to include the Nissan Qashqai, Volkswagen Golf and Ford Fiesta. Both petrol and diesel models will be examined.

The testing procedure will include a real-world element, to increase trust between consumers and the car industry. The government is also working together with the German government to cover more cars, with the possibility of collaborating with more countries to extend this.

In addition to NOx and CO2 emissions, the tests will determine whether ‘defeat devices’, such as those which caused the emissions scandal, have been used.

A government spokesperson said: “The Volkswagen story has shown how current emissions testing has its limitations. The UK has pushed for change in emissions testing, to bring ‘Real Driving Emissions Testing’ for real-world emissions figures.”

Although the money comes from taxpayers, none of the cost will be recovered from the manaufacturers, in order to maintain the scheme's independence. The estimated £650,000 cost of the scheme has been allocated from the Department for Transport’s annual budget, rather than using fresh money from the Treasury.

The results of the testing will be published once the programme is complete, with Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin promising a progress update by the end of 2016. A more real-world oriented emissions testing system will be introduced in 2017 in Europe, in response to the emissions scandal.